Chapter 1

1:4 - 2:2 - The divine pyromaniac threatens to "send fire unto" Hazael, Gaza, Teman, Rabbah, and Moab.

* God's mercy and grace were coming to an end.  He was about to deal with the pagans for rejecting Him.

Chapter 2

2:3 - God will "slay all the princes" of Moab.

* The Creator God has the right to judge His creation for rejecting Him.

2:7 - God predicts that "a man and his father will go in unto the same maid."

* Yes, this is a prediction by God.  It doesn't contradict any scriptures.  God knows what has happened and what will happen.

2:9 - God brags about killing off an entire race of gaints who were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks.

* God mentions how he judged some pagans for their sins.

2:16 - On the day of God's wrath, brave men "shall flee away naked."

* This is another prediction from God.

Chapter 3

3:2 - God explains that he punishes the Israelites because he knows them so well.

* This Hebrew word for "known" is also translated "appointed."  God revealed Himself to Israel and gave them His laws.  Therefore, they were fully accountable to Him.

3:6 - All evil comes from God, despite other verses that say he is good.

* This Hebrew word for "done" is better translated "bear."  A better translation for this passage is (verse 7 is included for clarity): "If a trumpet is blown in a city, will the people be afraid?  If there is evil in a city, will the Lord bear it?  Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets."  God announced His will through His prophets.  When the people rejected Him, God announced His judgments.  For a short time, God will bear evil, but evil will be punished.

3:7 - This says God reveals his plans to his prophets. But what about those times when God lies through his prophets?

* Many passages indicate that God has revealed Himself to the prophets.  He spoke to them, they spoke to the people, then God performed mighty things.

* 1 Kings 22:23 can be better understood by reading verses 21 and 22.  An evil spirit asked God if he could lie through some pagan prophets.  God decided to allow this spirit to lie through them.  This happened in order to render God's judgment and this action is precisely how the spirit world works.  God is in total control and does no evil.  Consequently, God allows evil spirits to punish pagans and do various other things.

* 2 Chronicles 18:22 is the same account from 1 Kings 22:23.

* In Jeremiah 20:7, this Hebrew word that was translated "deceived" in the KJV is better translated "persuaded."  A better translation of this passage is as follows: "O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed.  I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me."

* Incidentally, Jeremiah was speaking to God about the prophecies he had spoken.  He had been beaten and jailed for speaking a prophecy against Pashhur.  Therefore, Jeremiah was crying out to God.

* Ezekiel 14:9 is similar to this passage.  The word "deceived" is better translated "induced."  God is referring to prophets that sin and do not obey Him.  God is saying that their prophecies will not be from Him.  They will be false and they will suffer His wrath.

* In order to understand this passage, verses 6-8 should be read, too.  However, Ezekiel 14:9 is better translated: "And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel."  Part of God's judgment against a sinful and disobedient prophet will be a false prophecy coming from his mouth.

* 2 Thessalonians 2:11 is describing a judgment of God upon the people who reject Him before the rapture.  They will receive a strong delusion and will trust the Anti-Christ.

Chapter 4

4:1 - The words "kine" and "masters" here in the KJV are translated as "cow" and "husbands," respectively, in several other versions (NRSV, NIV, NJB, among them). That would mean these "cows" are women, who oppress the poor and act like drunkards.

* This Hebrew word for "kine" is better translated "heifer."  This phrase is referring to the women who were supposed to be pure (like the spotless heifers that were offered to God as a sacrifice).  In verse 2, we see that God is issuing a warning to these impure women that were supposed to be pure.  This is why we see the word "heifer" used as a play on words.  See Numbers 19:2.

4:4-5 - God gets sarchastic, telling the Israelites, "Go ahead, do what you want."

* This passage can easily be interpreted without the implied sarcasm.  God is simply predicting that they will sin in these places.  He never tells them to do what they want.

4:6-9 - God afflicts the Israelites with hunger, drought, thirst, blight, plagues and more. And he wonders why they don't turn to him?

* In this passage, God mentions the following things that were given to the Israelites: clean teeth and bread (only blessings are mentioned in verse 6), minor draught, rain in some areas and dryness in others, mildew, and some locusts.  This doesn't sound like major judgment to me.  It sounds like weather, but I'm sure the Israelites knew it was God trying to get their attention.

4:10-11 - God sends the pestilence, kills young men with the sword, makes the "stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils," and nearly destroys them (ala Sodom & Gomorrah). And yet God still wonders why the Israelites don't turn to him.

* God never indicates that He is wondering why the Israelites are not repenting.  God is simply recalling some of the ways He has judged them for their sin.  Rejecting God is a serious offense.  God knows that people suffer when they live for themselves and leave Him out of their priorities.  Furthermore, God had big plans for Israel and wanted to make them a pure people.  When calamity happens, what is inside comes to the surface; like an orange, when squeezed.  God was refining Israel through her trials and His desire was for them to repent and trust Him.  Whenever Israel repented and trusted God, they had huge success.  Whenever they "did what was right in their own eyes," they suffered, became slaves, lost their land, etc.

Chapter 5

5:3 - God threatens to diminish the Israelite's numbers and says warns that there is no refuge. Because he'll destroy those places too by "breaking out like a fire."

* God is telling Israel about the judgment that they deserve.  In verses 4 and 6, He makes it clear that they can "seek the Lord and live."  As always, sin leads to punishment and obedience leads to blessings.

5:12 - Has there ever been a just person?

* Yes. There have been some just people.  The apparent confusion lies only in Ecclesiastes 7:20.  However, the writer is stating that there are no perfect people.  In his new "circle of friends," there surely weren't any godly people (and definitely nobody perfect).

5:14-15 - God says "seek good," but a few chapters ago, elsewhere in the Bible, God is associated with evil.

* This Hebrew word for "done" is better translated "bear."  A better translation for this passage is (verse 7 is included for clarity): "If a trumpet is blown in a city, will the people be afraid?  If there is evil in a city, will the Lord bear it?  Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets."  God announced His will through His prophets.  When the people rejected Him, God announced His judgments.  For a short time, God will bear evil, but evil will be punished.

5:16-17 - When there is wailing and mourning, you'll know God's been there.

* Verse 15 clearly tells the people to "hate evil and love good, establish justice in the gate."  Verses 15 and 16 were telling about God's judgment that would ensue if the people ignored Him.

5:18-20 - Many Christians look forward to the "day of the Lord," but according to these verses, they shouldn't.

* This verse was written to the Israelites who were rejecting God.  This passage wasn't written to Christians.

* God is telling the unrepentant Israelites that the "day of the Lord" wouldn't be a happy day for them.

5:21-27 - Despite their praise, God abhors the Israelites. He is obviously hurt because they didn't offer sacrifices and more while they were wandering in the desert (however many centuries ago that was -- and besides, who made them wander in the desert in the first place? God!). Because God's feelings are hurt, he's going to let the Babylonians plunder and kidnap his "chosen people."

* Verse 26 highlights their idol worship and idolatry.  God is simply telling about their judgment.  Since God is perfect and holy, He holds the right to judge and punish unrighteous people for their sins.

* God cannot be called evil for punishing His children any more than an earthly father can be called evil for reprimanding his child.  However, God has the ability and right to judge people any way He wishes because He is perfect.

5:22 - God says he won't accept animal sacrifices, but elsewhere that is all that was needed.

* God was announcing the Israelites' judgment.  It was time for them to pay a price for their sins.  At this moment, God was not interested in their sacrifices.

* 1 Samuel 15:22 reads, "So Samuel said: 'Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.'"

Chapter 6

6:1, 5 - "Woe to" musicians.

* God gave a warning to the people who were making instruments to glorify themselves and other non-God things.  These instruments weren't for worship.

6:8-11, 14 - Because Israel is pretty well off, God feels a need to teach everyone a lesson and let the kingdom be smashed.

* In verse 8, God indicates that His judgment is being given to the Israelites because of their pride and arrogance.

Chapter 7

7:1-2 - In the first of Amos' visions, God makes some grasshoppers and sends them to devour the peoples' crops.

* This was a highly symbolic and prophetic vision.

7:3, 6 - Does God repent?

* God doesn't repent from sins because He does not sin.  See "Special Questions" for more on this.

7:4 - Next God sends a fire that consumes both land and sea.

* This was a prophetic vision and it would have been completely fulfilled if the prophet had not interceded and pleaded to God for mercy.

7:7 - God stands on a wall holding a plumb line while he talks to Amos, contrary to the many Bible verses that claim that no one has ever seen God.

* Nobody has seen God.  See "Special Questions" for more on this.

7:9-11 - God promises to destroy those who worship other gods, force the Israelites into captivity, and kill the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

* God's patience had been exhausted. He had given His revelation to His people, watched them sin, rebuked them, and they still weren't following His commands. Therefore, He was going to judge them for their sins.

7:17 - After ordered to stop prophesying, Amos gets nasty with the Amaziah the priest, telling him his wife will become a whore, his kids will be killed, and he'll die in a pagan country.

* His wife was probably already a prostitute.  Amaziah was an idolatrous priest.

* This prophecy was given by the Lord.

Chapter 8

8:3, 8, 10 - His wrath continues with lots of dead people, trembling lands, mourning and wailing.

* The Creator God holds the right to judge His creation for rejecting Him.

8:14 - God will eliminate anyone who prays to a different god on the day of his wrath.

* Amos 8:14 reads, "hose who swear by the sin of Samaria, who say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan!’  And, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives!’  They shall fall and never rise again.”  This was a specific prophecy for these idolaters.

Chapter 9

9:1 - Amos sees God standing on the altar, again contrary to the many Bible verses that claim that no one has ever seen God.

* This was a vision that Amos was given and the word "saw" isn't to be taken literally.

* See "Special Questions" for more on this.

9:1-4 - God will kill "the last of them with the sword," and any that try to escape by diving to the bottom of the sea will be bitten, at God's command, by a serpent. God will set his "eyes upon them for evil, not for good."

* This is describing God's judgment on evil, wicked, unrepentant sinners.

9:8-10 - It doesn't pay to be the "chosen people" in Amos, because God's at it again. This time, he's threatening to virtually wipe them out and kill everyone who thinks they got away.

* God is talking about judging the Israelites for their sins.

9:15 - Despite this promise, the Jews have been continually uprooted and their lives disrupted over the ages. Even today, their land ownership falls into question.

* This prophecy was fulfilled in 1948.